Total Drama: Summer Showdown
by JustAnotherChickenNugget
Summary: As Total Drama reaches its 15th anniversary, the show suddenly comes back from the dead! With sixteen new contestants competing at a campsite in Australia, the drama continues to live on, as nobody is safe from conflict. And if dealing with each other wasn't hard enough, the challenges will surely push them to their breaking points. This will be one wild summer! 16 spots left! SYOC


**Chapter 01: Two Meetings, One Purpose**

The sun was shining down just as a cool breeze came drifting softly across the atmosphere; there were people outside on the streets enjoying the warm weather and making use of their afternoon to have fun. However, inside of a gray building that appears to be low quality on the outside, it was a different story…

Exactly on the fourth floor in room 4C, a group of men and women were all in the room together; all of them were dressed professionally for what appears to be an important meeting… with all of them displaying serious looks on their faces and not looking too pleased with the current scenario they're in. The group of six were seated around one table, staring at each other — occasionally looking at the ticking clock, hoping that the time would go by faster. The three men wore matching suits with dress pants that went well with the dress shoes, although their ties each had different designs. Two of the women were wearing dresses that complimented the high heels that they were wearing. The other lady simply wore blouses with knee-length skirts and dress shoes.

The room itself wasn't much to look at, given that its quality would've gained a two-star rating at best. Other than the table, the clock, and the six office chairs, there weren't a lot of objects present in the room. Two glass windows appeared on one side… but cracks, dust, and whatever kind of spiders that lived there allowed it to remain closed and untouched by humankind. A ceiling fan with four light kits was hanging directly above the table on the ceiling, as it looked like it could fall at any moment. On the opposite side of the windows, there was a light-and-fan switch installed next to the door with taped paper labels right above it… one was labeled, "fan", while the other was labeled, "light switch!" As for the two sides that were adjacent to the windows and the door, other than the ticking clock that was attached to one of the two sides, there was nothing else but a white wall.

"Listen up," one of the men spoke up, breaking the silence, "We need to focus on something important here!" He managed to catch the attention of the other five members… stern looks and glares were thrown at him as a result.

As he stood up, it was obvious that he was capable of being a popular model, given his short, spiked front hairstyle, his clean brown hair, his slightly tanned skin tone, his charming blue eyes, and his muscular arms underneath the clothing. Stern looks and glares were thrown at him as he continued to speak, "We need to discuss our plans and goals for this summer!"

"No shit, Sherlock!" another male spoke up with clear annoyance in his voice. All eyes turned towards him as he readjusted his long black hair with a comb that he pulled out of his suit pocket. His hair was covered in multiple layers of hair gel, given that it would've boosted his physical appearance along with his black eyes and his slightly tanned skin that was clean and cleared of acne.

As glares were thrown at him, especially from the first guy who stood up, one of the ladies started to display a concerned look on her face. Like the two men that spoke up, she also appeared to be attractive; she had the right amount of makeup on her caramel face, and her dark brown hair was curly on the lower half. Not wanting anything to turn chaotic, she also stood up and said, "E-Everyone! Let's try to keep everything peaceful!"

Unfortunately for her, not everyone was willing to listen to her, as the two men that spoke up now turned their glares towards her. She grew more nervous each second, but still attempted to remain strong and unbothered by the intense staring from the others… keyword being "attempted". Several seconds later, she quickly sat down and grew silent, her face looking like she regretted saying what she had said just about a minute ago.

While the two men rolled their eyes at how pathetic she made herself look, the remaining three people gave her sympathetic looks — but didn't say anything, for as she was still at fault. There was nothing but silence in the room… tensions remained high and the weather was starting to get hotter.

It was one thing to deal with people you don't like or endure the summer heat in business attire… dealing with both at the same time was another story. "Look, we don't have all day here!" the guy who stood up resumed the conversation, pausing to glare at the girl who went silent before continuing. "You need to stop wasting our time if you're not gonna contribute to our plan! I'm not trying to spend another day in this goddamn office!"

"Can you stop putting her on blast?" a second lady asked sternly, having enough of his attitude as she stood up and adjusted her naturally straight black hair. "You think acting like that is gonna do anything?"

"Yes," the guy who stood up answered bluntly. "For one, it'll make this project a lot easier and faster to complete… but I'm sorry if you choose to let your emotions dictate your decisions, Ms. Kuchikawa. I can't blame you too much for wanting to protect Brianna."

"Brianna is my friend, and I apologize if you lack knowledge about the basic concept of human morals," Ms. Kuchikawa replied with a firm tone, not letting him get the better of her.

"Shut up!" a loud, deep voice interrupted as a fist was slammed on the table to get everyone's attention, "If y'all got any personal problems, then solve it on your own goddamn time! Now, are you two gonna keep up this petty crap, or are you gonna cooperate so we can make some progress?!"

"Seriously?!" a third female voice cried out in a frustrated tone. "Chef, you need to control your anger and calm down!" she had a concerned look on her slightly pale face, as she didn't want to deal with an angry man. "But he's right! We've all worked hard to get here and keep Total Drama successful for a long time. And I know we can do it again."

"And why should we listen to you?" the guy with multiple layers of hair gel asked, not bothering to hide his disdain for her.

"Because," the third female replied, making sure to send a nasty glare towards him in the process. "I grew up being a celebrity and having fame and fortune," she said proudly. "And I will not let my career end like this! Especially if we have an opportunity to revive something amazing and keep our careers going! Now, if Chris McShit over here is done being an asshole, allow me to provide you all with a couple of ideas."

However, Chris McShit wasn't done with his rudeness, as he burst out laughing at her poor attempt to insult him. Not wanting her to get the better of him, he decided to throw another remark at her, "Mildred, do us all a favor and drop the act! We all know that you'll always be the cold-hearted bitch who crashed into a Chinese hut!"

"Seriously, Chris? Would you stop acting like a goddamn little prick for once?!" Chef palmed his face out of frustration, given that he had to deal with Chris for multiple years, and was close to getting physically violent with him on several occasions.

"I'm not a little prick!" Chris defensively shouted at Chef, proving his point of being a little prick. "Chef, you know what I said about Blaineley is true!" his pettiness was getting on the nerves of everyone else in the room, including Brianna, who frowned at him. "Everyone in this room needs to show me some respect! I worked just as hard as all of you to keep Total Drama successful since day one! But no, you all still think that I'm this egotistical brat who has never worked a day in his life! It's not easy dealing with those annoying teenagers as one single host!"

No one had anything to say about him, especially after his hypocritical rant, other than Brianna's surprising comment, "Stop! Can you just stop and think about how hypocritical you just sounded? I can't even…"

"Now you know my pain!" Blaineley's voice interrupted, her temptation to rip out some of her dirty blonde hair and attack Chris for his comments being stronger than ever. "Now, someone do me a favor and knock him out if he tries to open his mouth again!"

"You'll be doing all of us a favor!" the guy who stood up added on to her comment before continuing where he left off, "Anyways, there better not be any more interruptions! All of the conversations going forward will only be about our summer project!"

"So," he continued before anybody else could have a chance to speak up and possibly create more conflict. "It's been 15 years since Total Drama first came out," he had a smile on his face upon mentioning that fact, given that it was currently June 2022. "We've had a lot of good and bad days, but in the end, we all ended up turning this franchise into an international sensation."

"I still remember the time you wasted so much bug spray to get through a whole summer of filming at Camp Wawanakwa!" Ms. Kuchikawa giggled upon remembering. "You were acting like a baby over a few harmless bug bites! I've never seen someone develop an intense hatred of black flies as you did!"

While the guy who stood up rolled his eyes, especially because everyone else couldn't help but chuckle about a memorable moment in the past. For the first time since the beginning of today's meeting, there was nothing but good vibes in the room.

There weren't any awkward silences or petty drama that occurred every two minutes, just six adults in one room maintaining civility and remembering all of the best events in their past when they worked together well as a whole team.

"That's very funny, Mariah Kuchikawa," the guy who stood up replied sarcastically, but couldn't help but smile a little bit. "As I had stated earlier, our conversations must only be about the upcoming summer project."

"Come on, Matthew, try to lighten up a little bit!" Blaineley had a genuine smile on her face. "Besides, I can see you smiling from where I'm sitting! Don't try to hide it and act all serious!"

"Y-Yeah!" Brianna agreed with a smile on her face. "P-Plus, I think it's b-better to have this than to d-deal with m-more drama."

"You got that right!" Chef also agreed, but with a serious expression on his face. "But model boy's right, we need to stay focused if we wanna get outta this hellhole quickly."

"You know, I think Chef's right, you do have potential to be a model," Chris complimented genuinely, knowing that one bad move could lead to his face receiving a strong fist, and most likely from Chef Hatchet of all people.

"Nah, modeling's not my thing," Matthew said, now pulling out a notepad from his pants pocket and his pen from his suit pocket. Unfortunately for him, he was the only one who came prepared with writing equipment. Surprisingly, he didn't seem too fazed about the others not being prepared, as the meeting was more about sharing ideas for the sake of contributing to the summer project.

"Hey, hold on!" Mariah cried out in shock upon seeing Matthew pull out his writing equipment, as the others didn't seem to care. "Nobody told me we had to bring some writing equipment! I would've been able to show you all my handwriting and take really good notes!"

"I don't think forgetting a couple of items would be a big deal," Blaineley said, attempting to calm her down and cheer her up as well. "Nobody else here brought anything, so at the end of the day, most of us are in the same boat."

"And besides," Blaineley continued, not letting anybody else get the chance to interrupt. "This isn't college or any type of school at all! It's simply a meeting that is more about verbal communication and sharing ideas."

"She's right," Matthew said with seriousness in his voice, really insistent about getting the meeting done without any more interruptions. "We've done this before in previous meetings, so I can assure you that this one won't be any different."

Both Mariah and Blaineley nodded in agreement, keeping quiet so Matthew could make some progress with the meeting. The others did the same thing, as Chris combed his hair once more, Chef readjusted his white hat, and Brianna played with the curly part of her hair. Matthew smiled at the quietness and said, "Thank you! Anyways, continuing from where I left off, even though Total Drama has been on hiatus for the last seven years, today will be the day of a new beginning! Total Drama will rise from the ground to reclaim its throne as the number one reality television show in the world! Now, can I ask you all to work together as a team and make this dream come true?"

Everyone but Matthew cheered, making sure that their voices weren't too loud that they would get kicked out. "I know it won't be easy, considering that we'll have to deal with the cops, lawsuits, and angry haters. Plus, considering that me and my dad have spent almost all of our money into making this project work out, we'll have to take some extra precautions. Speaking of which, many of these new precautions will apply to you, Chris McLean."

"I-I'm not in trouble, r-right?" Chris stuttered nervously, for he knew that things weren't gonna be good for him. "No…" he quickly attempted to calm himself down, "If I was in trouble, I would've been fired or arrested! But I'm still here, so I'm positive that these new conditions won't be that bad!"

"If it were up to me, I would've handed you over a long time ago," Matthew replied, as given by his serious expression, he wasn't kidding about what he had just said. "I still can, but I'm not going to. Deep down in me, I believe that even with the damage you caused throughout the years, I still have hopes that you'll listen and change for the better. So you better be grateful, Mr. McLean! This will be your last chance, so don't you dare screw it up like how you screwed up All-Stars and Pahkitew Island!"

"Okay. Just lay down the rules for me." Chris said obediently, as Blaineley and Chef smirked at how disciplined he became.

"S-So what's gonna h-happen exactly if h-he doesn't comply with t-the rules?" Brianna asked Matthew, curiosity getting the better of her, and to a certain extent, everyone else in the room.

"For starters, we'll report you to the authorities for all of your crimes you've gotten away with," Matthew stated, as shock built up on Chris McLean's face, given that another prison sentence would end his career. "And since you have already served your sentence for a few of those crimes after the end of 'Revenge of the Island', we won't file those against you."

"S-So, what does that even mean?" Chris asked nervously, the fear still apparent to everyone. "And m-more importantly, w-who's gonna replace me?"

"We can easily replace you with Don! I'm sure he'll have no problem taking over as the new host of Total Drama," Matthew smirked at him as his face went pale as a ghost.

This time, it was Blaineley's turn to laugh, as she wanted to add insult to injury. "Looks like McShit over here is gonna be replaced by the person he hates the most!" It felt so satisfying, that she wanted to keep going. "I would feel so embarrassed if the person I hated ended up beating me in the ratings and took my job!"

"D-D-D-Don…? **HE IS NOT REPLACING ME!**" Chris suddenly roared, shutting up Blaineley instantly, as everyone was startled by his anger that came out of nowhere.

"Going to prison again is one thing, but being replaced by that wannabe piece of shit is something I will not stand for! This is absolute bullshit, Matthew!" Everyone could hear his strong and heavy breathing, as his eyes seemed to give off murderous looks. Most of them didn't dare to speak about Don any further, as they feared an altercation would occur. Although Chef wasn't afraid of his anger, he felt it would be smarter to keep his mouth shut for the sake of getting the meeting done quicker.

"Now that I've revealed everything that's at stake for you, are you gonna comply with all of the precautions?" Matthew asked, no longer being terrified of his anger.

"Keep in mind that you'll have to follow them for as long as you're still the host of Total Drama," Mariah stated, apparently knowing these precautions as well. "The bright side is that your prison sentence won't be as harsh as you expected. And I can also assure you that your luxurious lifestyle won't change that much." The promise of his lifestyle not changing drastically was enough to calm down the host for the most part, but he still felt a little bit nervous about the rules he was gonna have to follow.

"Honestly, I'm not one to enjoy following the rules," he admitted with a shrug, but then a smile grew on his face. "But as long as I get to keep having my golden hot tub all to myself, then I'll comply!"

Chef, who had remained quiet this whole time, rolled his eyes, sighing. "That pretty boy and his goddamn hot tub…" he murmured, clearly audible, but Chris simply ignored him and looked at Matthew, feeling impatient and wanting the answers immediately.

"So, what's the first rule I have to follow?" he asked calmly.

"You'll have to share the luxury room with all of us," Matthew announced with a smirk on his face.

"Come again?"

"You wanna complain about unfairness, but of all the people in this room, you're the only one who gets to have access to that paradise! Me and the others aren't even allowed to get a small glimpse of it!"

As the jealousy was building up in Matthew's system, Chris simply burst out laughing at his pettiness, "Dude! You already have the privilege to live inside a mansion! If that's not luxurious, then I don't know what is! And besides, after what Duncan did in All-Stars, that was enough of a justification for me to get my luxury room!" everyone in the room instantly remembered about the cottage explosion incident, given that it was a memorable highlight.

Blaineley cried out, "That cottage ended up being rebuilt right after the season ended!" from her perspective, she felt like it wasn't a big deal.

"And he's banned from coming back… that's a double win right there," Chef added on to Blaineley's comment, as he was ultimately taking Matthew's side in this situation, given that he was gonna get access to an amazing room. "So don't you start whining about your justification and all that bullshit," he continued, making it clear that Chris needs to stop whining and accept the conditions.

Chris looked at Brianna and Mariah, hoping that they would back him up, "I was the victim in that situation! A bunch of my possessions was destroyed! And besides, that cottage is gonna be used for this season for all of the losers. I've heard that the Playa Des Losers is coming back to replace the aftermath show."

"I'm sorry, Mr. McLean, but everyone in this room is agreeing that the incident isn't enough to get you out of sharing one room," Mariah simply stated, as she and Brianna felt some sympathy for what happened to him.

"So I'm the only one who disagrees with sharing my golden hot tub with other people?" Chris asked, everyone else in the room nodding their heads, causing him to sigh in defeat. "Just tell me the second condition I have to follow."

While everyone but Chris was celebrating internally, the host was nervously waiting for the next precaution. He knew that for a new era to begin successfully, new changes would have to occur, whether he like it or not.

"So, Mr. McLean, do you remember when the executive producers allowed you to create some of the challenges for Pahkitew Island?" Matthew asked, Chris simply nodding his head as an answer. "Well after what happened with the challenge that involved the babies, a bunch of people sued our show! So, therefore, you are no longer allowed to have any creative control over the challenges."

The host didn't even attempt to defend himself for this case, immediately accepting defeat. "I guess that's completely fair," Chris admitted with guilt. "Honestly, I was really surprised that the executive producers gave me the green light for that. And yes, I do feel remorse… shocking, I know! But anywho, I'm completely okay with following that rule. Move on to the next one, Matt!"

"This one is pretty obvious, but as someone who tries to be fair and neutral, unfair eliminations will no longer be tolerated," Matthew firmly stated by slamming his fist onto the table, as no one was startled since they were all focused on him. "Some of the most infamous ones, such as Courtney being rigged out, Leshawna getting screwed over by a parrot, Lindsay's elimination in the first season, Sierra's explosive exit, Gwen's elimination in the fifth season, and Ella's disqualification have all made us look bad."

"I don't see how all of this involves me," Chris said nonchalantly.

Matthew and Blaineley palmed their faces out of frustration and annoyance; the former Aftermath host sighed and decided to explain how he had a role in the eliminations. "Can't you use your brain and put the pieces together?" she cried out in frustration, as Chris still couldn't figure out how he was involved. "You either eliminated them because you simply hated them, or you didn't do anything because you felt like it would generate ratings!" she finally gave him an answer. "And as the host, you're supposed to be unbias and professional whenever you're on camera!"

Everyone but Chris nodded in agreement.

"H-How come you e-eliminated Ella for s-singing when you h-had a whole s-season of singing?" Brianna asked Chris, with the season of singing being referred to as World Tour. She decided to continue asking questions, "W-Why didn't you s-stop Harold from r-rigging the v-votes? D-Don't you w-want to be r-respected?"

"I already am respected!" Chris shouted with pride and ego. "It's my job to cause drama between the contestants if it gets too boring! You can't blame me if the contestants are all friendly with one another! I'll stop with the unfair eliminations, but I won't hesitate to stir up drama between those teenagers! I mean, why don't you try to cast people that aren't boring pieces of shits?!"

"Because every cast needs diversity, you moron!" Matthew yelled at him, getting fed up with his whining again, especially after he promised to not complain. "Honestly, do you think that a season would work well if we only had a cast of sweethearts or a cast of mustache-twirling villains?"

Chris stood up immediately, not looking too happy at what Matthew had just said. "Why are you twisting my words?"

"Look, I never said or wanted a cast that only consists of villains, especially if they're annoying like Max," he continued, wanting to clarify what he meant. "I agree that diversity is important, but what's a host supposed to do with a boring cast if I'm not responsible for deciding who gets onto the show…?

As Matthew was about to say something, Mariah managed to beat him to the punch, knowing that it could get ugly between the two guys. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to stir up some drama between people that are less dramatic," she smiled at Matthew to assure him that she's got it under control. "Ultimately, tying in with the unfair eliminations, we just want you to be a neutral host. The last thing we need is you getting fired because you broke some major rules in your contract…"

As Mariah was about to continue, a ringtone started playing, and Chris simply told everyone in the room, "I'll be outside of the building!"

* * *

**June 09, 2022**

"Chris!" Chef tried to call, but he had already bolted out the door. "I wonder what would be that important to make him abandon the meeting?"

"It's probably just someone inviting him to a party," Blaineley assumed with a shrug, not caring that he had left the meeting, and she wouldn't find it important if he didn't return later on. Whether he was invited to a party or not, the remaining people in the room all knew that the meeting had to go on. After almost a minute of silence, Mariah was the first to speak up and continue the meeting. "Well, even if Chris doesn't return, we'll just give him the remaining rules on another day. There's only two more that he has to know. Anyway, since Chris is not here, I think we should move on to our next topic."

"Y-Yeah, we've used a l-lot of t-time to get that p-part out of t-the way," Brianna agreed, knowing that they can't be there all day. "W-What time should we l-leave?"

"We'll leave once everything in the meeting is covered," Matthew firmly answered, shocking a couple of people. "Before you all start complaining about dinner, keep in mind that it's only four-thirty right now."

None of the other four members said anything, as even though a couple of them were starting to get hungry and all of them were suffering in their business attires, courtesy of the hot room and the summer heat, they all decided to stay to avoid getting in trouble.

"It looks like you got a bunch of stuff written on that notepad of yours," Chef pointed out, as according to the notepad, Matthew was nearly done with the second page.

"Yeah, I feel like I could've written more," Matthew admitted with a small laugh. "But hey, if I can't get everything down, my dad can easily fill me in!"

"I keep forgetting your dad an executive producer," Chef said while scratching the back of his head. "He's a good dude, knows how to raise a kid properly."

"Can we please move on?" Blaineley asked, starting to get irritated from the off-topic conversations.

Chef and Matthew immediately dropped the current conversation and returned to their next business topic. Time seemed to pass by quickly when no one interrupted with off-topic conversations or pointless arguments. Even so, the five members were able to cover several topics within a matter of forty minutes. The discussions were all about the upcoming season — the application was planned to be modified, the filming would take a majority of the summer to complete, all of the current and new interns would get paid minimum wage, and the Playa Des Losers was officially confirmed as the new location to do the Aftermath show.

By five-twenty, the five members had finished discussing the confessional outhouse receiving an upgrade.

"It's about time that damn thing got washed," Chef smiled in relief, not wanting to spend another minute dealing with something as nasty as horse poop. "Whoever's washing that is gonna need a miracle to survive. I just can't imagine how tough it'll be for him or her."

"And this is coming from a former soldier and drill cadet," Blaineley chuckled, taking an opportunity to poke fun at the large cook. "You know, I never thought that a nasty outhouse would be a tough challenge for you."

"You think anybody else would be crazy enough to do that task?" Chef asked, with Blaineley and the others shaking their heads as if he had asked them to wash the outhouse. "Model boy, how much is that worker getting paid to clean the outhouse?"

"I would say around five hundred dollars," Matthew answered, shocking everyone in the room. "Keep in mind that this outhouse hasn't been washed since Pahkitew Island. That eight-year-old outhouse is gonna be infested with cockroaches, rats, and spiders.

"Oh my God!" Brianna cried out in shock and fear. "A-Are we gonna g-give the worker safety g-gear and equipment?"

"Speaking of worker, shouldn't there be more workers for the sake of safety and time?" Mariah suggested, not wanting something like the outhouse upgrade taking up too much valuable time.

"I'm not really in charge of that," Matthew admitted. "But I will try to convince my dad and his co-workers to consider Mariah's idea so we can be done on time. But anyway, moving on to our next topic, we'll need to figure out a location for this season since Wawanakwa and Pahkitew are no longer options."

Even though Pahkitew Island never sunk, the island was destroyed after the artificial machines went haywire to the point that it was playing God and creating different environments. From snowy mountains to hot deserts, it wasn't a surprise that they were banned from that island by the Canadian government. "And before anybody says anything, I am not going back to that film lot!" Matthew exclaimed bitterly. "Let's keep the filming location on an island please." None of them questioned why he felt bitter at the idea of the abandoned film lot being used again, as they all started to think.

"Does anybody know where the Herbert River is?" Mariah asked after a couple of minutes of thinking, as the others shook their heads as their answer.

"It's at the Goshen Station in Queensland, Australia," she continued, pulling out her phone and going on Google Maps to show them the exact location. "I'll take care of the flights from Canada to there," she added with a smile on her face.

"What about the flights that'll take them back to the Playa Des Losers?" Matthew asked, concerned about the cost in particular.

"And will there be a good place to place our mansion?" Blaineley asked, not wanting to deal with anything nasty or dangerous.

Mariah's smile still stayed on her face as she continued to explain, "My father told me this… _'If a golden opportunity arises, one must seek it to fulfill it… and that seeking begins with a plan or two that will lead to benefits and success'_."

"Would you cut it out with that riddles and quotes crap?!" Matthew cried out, his tone being incredibly serious. "How are you gonna take care of the flights for us, the other staff members, and the contestants?! Do you know how expensive that'll be?! We've already spent a lot of money on production alone! Don't you think an island that's close to Canada is a better idea?"

"L-Let Mariah try to explain p-please!" Brianna attempted to calm him down and prevent a major argument from breaking out. "M-Mariah, do you have a plan? W-What if we fail?! A-Are we d-doomed to l-lose our jobs?"

"Brianna, do you think you can do me a favor and not ask too many questions?" Matthew asked with a serious look. "You're not helping anybody here!"

"Enough!" Mariah yelled out loud, shutting up Matthew and Brianna instantly, having enough of the bickering and questioning.

"I told you all that I can take care of the flights from here to there, and from there to here! I understand that we're going to travel nineteen hours just for a new season of Total Drama, but I can assure you all that I have a plan that will ultimately work out and bring this show back to the top!" There was determination in her eyes and on her face. Everyone else looked at one another, unsure whether to go along with her plan or try to find a different location. Either way, there would be obstacles to deal with, no matter what plan they follow.

"So you say that the flights will be taken care of, but what about our mansion?" Blaineley asked, curious and a little demanding about their living arrangements. "If we go to Australia, we'll have to get a new one built over there. With the previous seasons, we only had to travel an hour or two to reach our filming locations."

"Believe it or not, I have some advanced technology that'll defy realism," Mariah had a smile on her face once again.

"Advanced technology?" Matthew had a skeptical look on his face, as he was finding it difficult to believe her. "Look, I know it's 2022 right now, but I know there's no product that can instantly construct a house, let alone a mansion! Let's just find a different location and call it a day!"

"Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions," Mariah told him.

"Can you not come up with these unrealistic plans and solutions?" Matthew rebutted quickly. "Matter of fact, can someone else please come up with a different location?"

Unfortunately for him, no one else had attempted to come up with an idea or even use their phones to search on Google Maps.

"Well, Matt, why don't you try to make an effort?" Mariah had an unnoticeable smirk on her face. "Does anybody else have another place in mind? Or is Australia acceptable as the official filming location? More importantly, does anybody have any more questions or concerns? Or are we able to move on to our next topic?"

"We won't finalize it, but it's gonna be highly considered," Matthew said, as Mariah smiled and nodded her head to thank him. By this point, it was now six-ten, and although it was starting to get cooler, fatigue and hunger were about to take over their mind and body. Some appeared more apparent than others.

"I could kill for a salad bowl right now! Matthew, let's just call it a day after this one!" Blaineley complained, feeling hungry and tired.

"Do you all wanna go home after we finish this last topic?" Matthew asked everyone, also feeling hungry and tired, but looked fine on the outside. The other members nodded their heads or gave a sign of approval.

"Is the last topic s-simple?" Brianna asked, her face laying on the table and nearly ready to fall asleep in the room.

"Nobody better make it last longer!" Chef warned everyone. "I need to go check up on Chris and see if he alright!"

The mentioning of Chris McLean got everyone's attention. "So I assume that he's not coming back to the meeting?" Blaineley asked, ready to conclude that he went to a party.

"Don't worry about that whiny brat!" Matthew told her, not wanting the conversation to get off-topic again, especially at this point. "We just need to forget about him and finish the meeting!"

"So Brianna, let me see if you think this is simple," he continued, addressing her question as well. "Come up with the official title name for this season…"

He leaned back against the chair and hoped that one of the four members would be able to come up with something creative. "Think of something that relates to summer!" he said excitedly. "Something that can involve…"

"S-Summer S-Showdown!" Brianna called out suddenly, interrupting Matthew in the process.

"That's an excellent name!" Mariah gave her a high five as a reward. The others smiled or nodded their heads in agreement, relieved that it didn't take long to come up with an interesting season name. More importantly, they all knew that the meeting was finally over, as each of them had important stuff to take care of. And although there were more meetings to come in the future, it was gonna be a new beginning for the Total Drama franchise.

"Well everyone, I'm happy to say that the meeting is finally over!" Matthew cheered, as the others did so as well. "Now, let's get out of this room and never come back here! I'll see you all in three days!"

* * *

It was currently four-twenty when Chris had gotten a phone call and needed to leave the meeting, bolting out the door to make it look like it was an emergency.

"Hello? Can you hear me, bro?" he said calmly, appearing to be walking outside the building with a small smirk. "When and where do you wanna meet up?"

"Did the plan work out successfully?" he asked rhetorically before chuckling.

"Come on, bro, do you not know me by now?" his smirk grew bigger and wider. "Of course it worked out perfectly! All of them thought I had an emergency! And now that I'm out of that hell hole, do you think I should change my name to Chris McClever?" he continued to talk on the phone about different topics, getting further away from the building each time the conversation changed subjects, "So do you prefer chicken nuggets or chicken sandwiches? Matter of fact, what about chicken tenders or chicken wings?"

"Oh shit, it looks like something went down in this area," Chris pointed out, seeing around three police cars, two fire trucks, and one ambulance.

A cop suddenly approached him, causing the host to hang up immediately without saying goodbye. "Excuse me, sir, but are you, Christopher McLean? The son of Claire McLean, to be exact? If that's the case, then I would like to ask a couple of questions, starting with whether you still live with her on 7399 Hammersmith Avenue? If that's true, then I would like to ask whether or not you're aware that she has clinical depression?"

Chris didn't know what to say, given that a police officer asked him four different questions, but he quickly regained his composure and answered yes to all of them.

"I thought she had moderate depression?" Chris asked the slightly overweight officer, growing more worried each second. "Officer, is she alright?"

The cop simply pointed at the scene, which was a car accident between two different cars… his mother was involved, and Chris was given a piece of paper… each line he read through, his face grew more pale, his heart beating faster every few seconds. The officer could only just stay silent and look down, as Chris had finished reading the final line…

He handed the paper back to the officer, tears forming in his eyes as he looked at the two destroyed cars…

He didn't know what to say or how to react… "M-M-Mother…?" he struggled to speak. "Why?"

* * *

**Author's Note: **And so we reach the end of the first chapter! I would like to congratulate you on reading through the whole thing! I appreciate you for doing that! But anyway, there will be a lot more chapters coming, so stick around for the brand new season!

Speaking of the season, for this one, I'm gonna need your help! It may not seem like it, but this is gonna be an SYOC (send your own character) story! There will be sixteen open spots available for whoever wants to submit! It may be harder to get accepted, but in the long run, it'll be easier for me to write out each character accurately. And although I'm highly aware of the number of unfinished stories in this category, believe it or not, I have a couple of friends that will never allow me to give up!

So before I close off this author's note, I just wanna let you know that only the rules will be posted down below. To avoid problems, if you want the application, not only will you have to leave a review for this chapter, but you must also answer these three questions in your review. I apologize if it seems a bit too much, but these questions are fairly simple and easy. From there, I'll give you the application through private messages.

**The Questions**

**1\. **What was your favorite part of this chapter?

**2\. **What is your opinion on each of the six characters?

**3\. **Is there anything, in terms of grammar, spelling, or content, that I can improve on?

**The Rules**

**1\. **Since I'll have to send the application through private messaging, those who don't have active accounts, a.k.a. guests aren't eligible to submit a character.

**2\. **You can submit a maximum total of two characters! If possible, please tell me how many characters you're planning to submit beforehand! And I know that this rule will make it more difficult to get your character accepted since there are only sixteen spots on top of that, but this is where rule number three comes in.

**3\. **If I reject your character(s) for the first time, you'll have a chance to revise and fix your character(s). On top of that, I'll point out which components need fixing as well! However, if I were to reject your character(s) again, then that's it. For those who submit two characters, then you're out of the running. However, for those who only submit one character, you can try again with a character of the opposite gender. You'll have four chances in total to get at least one character accepted.

**4\. **Keep your character(s) realistic and fully human! I know a humanoid sounds badass, and believe me, I love Aigis from Persona 3, but in the Total Drama universe, all of the characters have been and will be humans.

**5\. **When making your character(s), try not to make them related to any of the previous Total Drama and Ridonculous Race contestants. If it's obvious that your character is a carbon copy, then that'll be a problem for me.

**6\. **And lastly, keep in mind that I will be able to save spots! I understand that life can keep you busy, so I'll try to make it easy for you by saving a spot. However, you must let me know, along with how many characters you're planning to submit. I will give you 48 hours before I issue my first warning. After another 24 hours, if you have not responded, I will have to stop saving your spot.


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